Rebirth of a Sage
by FrostyTheDragon
Summary: Naruto nearly died on the mission to bring back Sasuke. Something happened, however, that would throw his world into a loop. How is he going to deal with the new responsibilities and presssure? Rated M for mature themes and violence. No pairings (yet)
1. Chapter 1

Naruto stared at the sky, rain falling like tears. They mixed with his own. He cried for the failure of his mission and the loss of his dearest friend. He cried at the world, wondering why they had to fight. Why couldn't they just make up and be friends again? Why did Itachi have to kill his clan? Why did all of this have to happen?

His eyes suddenly felt heavy, and he closed them grudgingly. He lay there, floating in the same water that had been their battlefield. Sasuke had left Konoha with Naruto chasing after. They had come to the Valley of the End and fought. It had been bitter and intense. Neither was willing to back down; neither was willing to admit defeat. At the end of it all, the two shinobi had formed their ultimate techniques: rasengan and chidori. The two had tried to kill each other then, but the resulting explosion had injured them both.

He couldn't help but smile bitterly. Sasuke had been less injured, and he had almost killed Naruto. However, he had leaned down next to the boy and whispered into his ear. "Next time I will kill you. Do not get in my way."

With that, he disappeared into the forest with the Sound shinobi. Naruto just lay there, completely drained and weak from the fight. He couldn't move a finger if he wanted.

_I'm sorry, everyone_, he thought. The people at Konoha had put their faith in him, their trust that he would return with the wayward Uchiha. Instead, he had lost and failed. _I'm so sorry_.

Naruto could feel the lifeforce leave his body. Blood flowed from his wounds in tiny rivers, mixing with the water beneath him. Cold began to creep into his flesh and bones, telling him the end was near.

He opened his eyes one last time. His vision began to blur, dark spots appearing around the edges.

_Goodbye._

* * *

Naruto opened his eyes. He lay in a shallow water surrounded on all sides by what looked like a sewer network. Something was wrong. He should be dead.

"I don't think that being alive is so bad."

He sat up, his body aching all over from the exertion. Naruto looked around to see a shadowy figure behind him. "Who are you? Where am I?"

The figure walked into the dim light that surrounded Naruto. He was tall, taller than Kakashi-sensei. His skin was a pale grey, and it was covered in deep wrinkles. A shock of pale brown hair sat atop his head with a small braid coming down the left side of his face. Two horns projected outward from his forehead. "You are in your mindscape, child. You are here because it is not your time."

"Who are you?" he asked again, wondering why the man had his eyes closed.

"I am Hagoromo Otsutsuki, young Naruto," he chuckled. "You may know me as the Sage of Six Paths."

The man opened his eyes and met Naruto's gaze with his own. They were completely lavender colored, with a ringed pattern rippling out from the pupil. He smiled at the boy's shocked expression, one hand stroking his beard.

"How?" was all Naruto could say.

Hagoromo sat down, rather hovered above the water. He gestured for Naruto to stand. "I am here for you, Naruto Uzumaki. I have been watching the world of the living since my mortal form passed on. I have seen how my teachings have been bastardized. This is far from the world I envisioned."

Naruto just nodded, not trusting his mouth to speak. Here he was, dying, speaking to _the_ Sage of Six Paths. How was this even possible?

"I have chosen you, young Naruto," Hagoromo said. "I am able to sense your thoughts while I am here."

"What have you chosen me for, Senin-sama?"

Again, Hagoromo chuckled. "Please, call me Hagoromo. I have never been one for formalities. I have chosen you to become the next Sage of Six Paths."

"Why me?" Naruto asked. "I'm just some monster from a shinobi village. I'm a nobody."

"Not true," the Sage said calmly. "You, young Naruto, posses a will strong enough to move mountains should you wish. These eyes, the Rinnegan, allow me to see you for who you were, who you are, and who you shall be. I have been keeping my eyes on you for quite some time. I have seen your disdain for the fighting of this world. You wish for peace, yes?"

Naruto nodded dumbly.

"I offer you a chance to make that dream a reality," Hagoromo said. He held out his hand, a small ball of chakra forming.

"But why _me_," Naruto asked, his mind running at full gear. "Why do you want me? Why do you want the one that the village hates?"

"That is but their ignorance, child. You see, within you is contained a child of mine."

"Your child?"

Hagoromo nodded, and they were suddenly standing in a massive cavern. Behind him was a scarlet cage, a piece of paper over the lock. There was a stirring within the cage, and a blood-red eye opened to view them.

"**Oto-sama?**" the thing asked in disbelief. "**How is this possible?**"

"Hello, my child," the Sage greeted with a smile. "It has been too long."

"That is the Kyuubi," Naruto gasped, backing away in fear. "It attacked Konoha. It killed people. It's sealed in me? So I'm a monster like they said?"

"**Insolent fool!**" the Kyuubi snarled. "**I will tear you limb from limb for that!**"

"Enough, Kurami," Hagoromo barked. "This boy has been through what you have, perhaps worse. You are not to blame, true, but neither is he."

"**Very well, oto-sama**," the Kyuubi said. It turned its eye to Naruto. "**You. What is your name, human?**"

"N-Naruto," he stammered. "Please don't hurt me."

"**It is because of me that you haven't died yet, fool**," Kurami growled.

"Naruto, this is my daughter, the Nine-Tailed Fox," Hagoromo said. "Kurami, this is Naruto. He is a shinobi of Konoha."

"**So the Yondaime used his own brat to seal me**," the Kyuubi chuckled. "**How poetic.**"

"The Hokage's son?" Naruto asked. "I'm the Yondaime's son?!"

Hagoromo nodded. "I do not pretend to know why this information was kept from you, Naruto. I'm sure that Hiruzen knew something we do not. For now, yes, you are the son of Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki."

"This is too much to take in," Naruto whispered. "This is too much. Too much."

"**Oto-sama, why are you here?**" Kurami asked. "**You haven't been around in centuries.**"

"I am here because I have found my successor, Kurami," Hagoromo said, gesturing to Naruto. "He is to be the next Sage of Six Paths."

"**Him?!**"

"Yes, Kurami," he said. "I will give him my memories and power. I will need your help, Kurami."

"**Of course, oto-sama. What do you need.**"

"Please, protect the boy. He is young and will have much power. I know he will use it wisely, but we must be sure," the Sage pleaded.

Kurami, still obscured in shadow, closed her eye and sighed. "**Fine, oto-sama. I will change his body as needed.**"

Hagoromo nodded and looked at Naruto, who was still whispering to himself. "Young Naruto, do you accept my offer to be my successor?"

Naruto stopped whispering and looked at him. "I'm dying! How the hell can I accept when I'm going to be dead? D-E-A-D. Dead."

"**I will repair you, Naruto**," Kurami muttered.

"Sennin-sama, are you sure? I mean, I'm not a great shinobi. I can't even protect my friend."

"My boy," Hagoromo began, kneeling down and placing a comforting hand on Naruto's shoulder. "You are one with so much potential within you. I believe you can become a mighty being. I do not ask you to be a shinobi. I do not ask you to be a warrior. I ask that you become a leader, an inspirer of men. I ask that you try to bring peace to the world as I did. I know this is much thrust upon you, but there is to be no other I can trust."

"How can you trust me? You don't even know me," Naruto asked, tears falling from the overwhelming information.

"My child, you are so young. You are so strong. I have always been watching," Hagoromo said. "I have known for a while now that you are to be my successor. I will grant you my memories to help you in this journey. Trust in yourself; trust in your friends and family."

"I don't have a family."

Hagoromo smiled, his heart knowing the truth. He gestured with a hand and a picture appeared. It showed the Konoha Nine, Kakashi, Iruka, Hiruzen, Tsunade, Jiraiya, and many others. "These are your family, Naruto. You are more loved than you know."

"Then I accept," Naruto said, strength returning to his voice. He wiped the tears from his eyes and replaced it with a look of determination. "I will bring peace to the world. I will, I promise."

"That is your nindo, after all," Hagoromo chuckled. He reached out, the ball of chakra still in his hand. Pressing it to Naruto's chest, he whispered some final words. "Trust yourself. Follow your heart. Know that you will always be loved. Help those in need. Protect those who cannot protect themselves. Goodbye, Naruto."

With that, Naruto's world faded to black once more.

* * *

Kakashi read his book as he sat in the hospital room. He had been reading a particularly interesting part when, out of the corner of his eye, he saw movement. Looking over at the prone body on the bed, he watched as Naruto again twitched, a soft groan escaping him. Kakashi's eye widened, and he jumped from the chair. He threw open the door and shouted to the nurses nearby. "Notify Hokage-sama immediately! He's waking up!"

"Kakashi-sensei, can you please not shout," Naruto muttered as he sat up. He rubbed his eyes, ridding them of the last vestiges of sleep.

"I'm sorry, Naruto," he said softly. "How're you feeling?"

Naruto reached over to the bedside stand and took the water jug. After chugging down the entire container, he set it down and hopped from the bed. "I'm actually feeling great."

Kakashi watched, his eye widening again. Out of Naruto's forehead protruded two horn-like _things_. There was a red dot on his forehead, with a single dot in the middle and black ripples going out. He nearly fainted when Naruto looked at him. The boy, his student who had no kekkei genkai, had the Rinnegan.

"Naruto, why do you have the Rinnegan?" he asked weakly.

Naruto walked to the mirror on the wall, completely ignoring the fact the hospital gown covered only his front. His eyes widened slightly when he saw his reflection. He muttered, "So it wasn't a dream."

At that moment, Tsuande barged in, breathing heavily from the run. She looked at Naruto, not sure what to think.

"Ah, hello baa-chan," Naruto said with a smile. "I'm actually glad you're here, because I -"

He didn't get the chance to continue as he was crushed in a bear hug. Tsunade sobbed as she held her little blond gaki. "You had me scared. Please, don't do that ever again."

She set him down, and Naruto sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "I'm sorry, baa-chan. I didn't mean to, honest. Can you and Kakashi close the door? I need to tell you guys something important."

Once the door was shut, privacy seals placed, Kakashi and Tsunade took a seat. They looked at Naruto, Tsunade finally _looking_ at Naruto.

"Um, gaki, what's with the horns and Rinnegan?" she asked.

_How are you so calm?_ Kakashi thought.

Naruto told them about what had occurred in his mindscape, stressing that Kurami wasn't all that bad, just misunderstood. When he was finished, he closed his eyes, scanning his newly-found memories for the information he needed. Satisfied, he opened his eyes once more and performed a summoning jutsu. Strangely, this didn't require blood. "Summoning: Nine-Tails Kurami."

From his stomach, a flow of red chakra appeared. It fell to the floor and collected itself into a vaguely fox-shaped form. After a few moments, it solidified and a small, nine-tailed fox sat looking at them with an irritated expression.

"Naruto," it growled. "Why have you summoned me outside? I don't want to talk to these idiots."

"Oi! Who are you calling idiot?" Tsunade demanded.

"You two," Kurami said with a small grin, gesturing to the two older shinobi.

"Kurami, please play nice with them," Naruto sighed. "Just like you though to get things started with an insult though. After your time thirteen years ago, I can't really blame you."

"You mean to tell me, this is _the_ Kyuubi?" Kakashi asked.

"Unless you know of any other beautiful nine-tailed foxes," Kurami chuckled. That was, until Naruto picked her up by the scruff and forced her to meet his gaze. "What?"

"Play nice," he warned. "I will keep you out here only as long as you play nice. Otherwise, I'll send you back."

"Fine," she sighed. "Can you set me down now?"

He did, and she slunk over to the bed and jumped on. After curling in on herself, she dozed off in the warmth of the sunlight hitting the bed. Naruto smiled at her soft purs, gently stroking her head.

"Naruto, are you changed in any other ways?" Tsunade asked. "You seem...less loud."

"I'm assuming that I got some of his personality too," he shrugged. "I don't need to be loud. No need to be. I mean, I'm still me, still Naruto. I just have some..._quirks_ now."

"Well that's awfully mature," Kakashi chuckled. "So what happens now?"

Naruto stopped mid-stroke. He removed his hand from the fox and began to stroke an imaginary beard. "I'm not sure. First, I need a change of wardrobe. I'll need your help with that baa-chan, since the villagers will most likely not...you know, like me." When Tsunade nodded, he continued. "Then, I might leave the village. I can't be a shinobi of Konoha anymore anyways."

"What? Why?" Tsunade was shocked.

"Ever since Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha, there's been a law in effect between the daimyos. Basically, a hidden village can't have an SSS-ranked shinobi to avoid anything like what happened in their day. Too much power in one place is a good way to disrupt the scales of equality."

"You're not an SSS-ranked shinobi though," Kakashi countered. "You're status is _maybe_ B-rank, no offense."

"None taken," Naruto said with a chuckle. "However, I have the powers of Hagoromo Otsutsuki at my fingertips. I may not be able to use them just yet, but they're still there nonetheless."

"True," Tsunade grumbled. She couldn't believe it. Her blonde gaki was leaving so soon after she had gotten him back. "Can you wait a few days, though?"

Naruto smiled broadly, showing some of his old self. "I want to spend time with you too, baa-chan. Kakashi, you too. I've regained some repressed memories too, and I want to show you how much I appreciate your help with all those times you saved me."

"You knew about that?" Kakashi was startled. "I thought Inoichi blocked those memories."

"He did. When I became the successor to Hagoromo-sama, Kurami restructured my body in several ways. One way was my memory network," he explained. "When she did, it broke any and all brainwashing, hypnotism, etc inside my mind."

"Well damn," Kakashi muttered. "Alright, I'll meet with you tomorrow around noon? Ichiraku?"

"Sounds good," Naruto laughed. "Right now, I need some new clothes. These things are way too bright."

Tsunade looked at his orange jumpsuit. "I thought you liked orange?"

"Hell no," he grunted, scrunching his nose. "It's just the only thing they'd sell me and I didn't want to bother anyone. Now, I have little choice in the matter. The new Sage of Six Paths _cannot _be seen in an orange jumpsuit."

"Then how are you going to get to the store? You can't exactly go to the stores in a hospital gown," she chuckled.

Naruto stiffened and began to curse profusely as he pulled them from their chairs and pushed them out the door. While they were out, he dressed quickly before leaving, dragging Tsunade behind him. All the while, he was swearing a storm.

"Damn kid, Sennin-sama sure got you a new tongue, didn't he," Tsuande laughed.

When they were out of the hospital, Naruto slowed down at her request. They walked for several minutes in comfortable silence before he spoke again.

"I do have one other favor to ask, baa-chan," he said. "I'd like the library to be shut down for a day, if you don't mind."

"Why would you need that?"

"I'd like to read the books inside undisturbed. I'm going to use shadow clones to gain as much information as I can in the time before I leave."

She sighed, knowing the headache this would cause. "Alright. I'll have it shut down for a day."

"I'd also like access to the jutsu archive as well."

Her eyebrow twitched. "You need a lot of favors, gaki."

He shrugged. "Not much I can do about that. I can use all chakra natures. I can even use the kekkei genkai releases eventually. Those will take more time, though."

"How the hell can you do that?!" New chakra affinities was unheard of unless you were a once-in-a-million-years exception. Now that she thought about it, Naruto was just that.

"The Rinnegan allows me to use all releases. The kekkei genkai releases are a combination of two basic natures. Hence, if I can figure out how to mix natures, I can use the special ones. The only problem is, Hagoromo-sama knew he could do it but didn't experiment much with the idea. He was content with the basics. I am not."

"Well damn," Tsunade grumbled. "That's awesome."

"Right? That's not even half of what I can do now," he smiled. "I can do so much. I can feel the nature chakra around us even now. I can't utilize it yet, but I can feel it. There's so much good I can do now that I have the power to do so. Hell, I could probably turn Suna into a tropical paradise with enough chakra."

"Let's...not do that yet," she said. "You probably don't have enough."

"True, but eventually I will."

They went silent again until he stopped in front of a store. They walked in, the shop owner getting a scowl as he noticed Naruto. "So the demon reveals his true form?"

"I am not here to trade quips," Naruto sighed. "I'm here for a new uniform. I have the memories for you, I just need you to draw the design and make it. Please don't make this more difficult."

"What if I don't want you here?" he asked.

"Then you'll deal with me," Tsunade growled. "This will be on the Hokage's tab. Now, if you want to help us please do so now."

He began to sweat bullets as he pulled out a pad of paper and a pencil. "O-Of course, Hokage-sama. What can I do for you this fine day?"

Naruto reached out, ignoring the man's nervous jump. When his hand brushed the man's brow, the memories of Hagoromo's uniform were injected into the man's brain. As the man began to draw furiously, Tsunade looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm not sure," Naruto said simply. "It was on instinct."

_Hmm. How curious. I wonder if it's similar to the Yamanaka's ability_, she thought.

When the man was done drawing, he showed them the look. Naruto nodded and asked for a few adjustments, and soon left satisfied that he would get some uniforms by the time he left. An angry Hokage was a great incentive to work quickly.

"Now, gaki," she asked. "While you're on your travels, _please_ be safe."

"I will, baa-chan," he smiled. "I need to figure out my abilities first and how far they can go. After that, I'll probably begin to take on students. Ninshu won't spread quickly with just me."

"What's ninshu?"

Naruto stopped and held out his hands, palms up. "Place your hands on mine."

Tsunade did, and Naruto closed his eyes. For a moment, nothing happened, but then it hit her like a boulder. She could feel chakra flooding her system, but she instinctively knew it wouldn't harm her. Thoughts, feelings, and raw emotions began to spring to mind: a pair of children wrapped in a blanket, confusion, certainty. After a moment, the feeling subsided into the back of her mind.

"What was that?" she gasped. "It was like nothing I've ever felt."

"Ninshu was created by Hagoromo-sama," Naruto explained. "It is the premise of sharing chakra so that we can understand each other, feel what others feel. Just now, I shared my chakra with you. You experienced my emotions and memories. You may have experienced some of Hagoromo-sama's memories as well."

"That...was...I don't even know," she muttered. Her mind was at a standstill.

"Most people apparently have the same reaction the first time," he laughed. "I'm going to go walk around the village, see everything one last time. Go to your office and relax. I'm sorry for the shock."

Tsunade just nodded absently as she began to walk to her office. When she got there, she reached for a bottle of sake. As she poured it, a revelation hit her. She wasn't craving sake. In fact, she didn't _want _to drink it. She smiled and put it away, throwing the cup out. How her gaki kept surprising her.

* * *

Naruto walked around after putting up a henge. Though he didn't care about his newfound appearance, he didn't think anyone would like it.

_I wonder if I can still use jutsu_, he thought. _I mean, I know I can use jutsu with hand seals, but I wonder if I can use them without hand seals and just mold the chakra._

He stopped mid step as he was walking by a dango restaurant. Something was off. Despite not knowing the extent of the changes wrought on him, Naruto knew what he felt was just _wrong_. It felt _evil_. He swept over the dango place until he looked at a young woman about twenty-four years old. She wore some pretty revealing clothing and a tan overcoat. Her purple hair was pulled back in a ponytail that stuck out with a mind of its own.

He walked up to her, clearing his throat to grab her attention. "Hello, may I look at your left shoulder?"

"Who the hell are you?" she yelled. "You're way too young for me kid."

She stopped for a second as she realized who he was. Then, a sadistic, gleeful expression covered her face. "Oh, have you come to experience the pleasures of pain that I offered?"

"No."

Her eyebrow twitched at his blatant dismissal of her. "Then what the hell do you want gaki? Can't you see I'm busy?"

He walked over to the counter without a word and asked something to the waitress. She nodded and handed him a pen and paper. After he wrote something down on it, the boy walked to Anko again. "Here. Come by this address tomorrow. I will remove that cursed seal from you."

"What?!" she screeched. Anko jumped to her feet and pulled him up by the collar. "What the hell are you talking about? You can't remove it! No one's been able to!"

He scoffed. "Yeah. They don't have the understanding of sealing that I do. I am a seal master, Anko Mitarashi. I can and I will as long as you allow me. If you prefer having that disgusting thing on you though…"

She snatched the paper from his hand. "Fine. What time?"

"Noon. Do not be late. I am not a patient man."

Anko just watched in shock as the young boy walked out of the dango place. She looked at the rest of her food and grumbled, suddenly having no appetite. Leaving money on the table, she walked out and began to make her way to the Hokage's office. _What the hell happened to that kid?_


	2. Apologies

**Dear Readers,**

**I have some unfortunate news: early last week, my laptop was subjected to a power surge that fried it. What this means is that I lost all of my notes, chapters, **_**everything**_ **for the following fanfictions:**

**\- Crossing the Divide Revised (Ben 10)**

**\- Fox Emperor of the West (Naruto)**

**\- Rebirth of a Sage (Naruto)**

**\- Trials of Live (Naruto)**

**I am so, so sorry that this happened. I had yet to save the documents to Google Drive or any other external source. For now, these stories will be on hiatus. I am NOT abandoning these stories, although if one of you would like to adopt one I will not be opposed, just pm me. I will be reviewing the stories and will be recreating the notes as best I can and I will hopefully be updating them sometime in the next few months. Again, I am so, so sorry for this to happen. Please review and tell me if you'd like to see these stories continued. For now, thanks and have a good one.**

**\- FrostyTheDragon**


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